Library of Congress
Loc: Photographs From the Age of Jazz
This William P. Gottlieb Collection from the Library of Congress contains over 1600 photographs of celebrated jazz artists and documents the jazz scene from 1938 to 1948.
Stanford University
Riverwalk Jazz: Speakeasies, Flappers, and Red Hot Jazz: Music of Prohibition
Script of a radio broadcast about Prohibition and Jazz Age America comments on black market bootlegging, jazz music, speakeasies, flappers, and women`s suffrage.
National Geographic
National Geographic: Geostories: The Geography of Jazz
Explore this Geostory as it traces the roots of jazz from its humble beginnings in the southern United States to becoming one of the most widely recognized musical styles in the world.
Other
Visual Jazz Publications
This company produces educational materials to help you succeed in jazz improvisation and sight reading. Of note on their site is "The Art of Improvisation," a free download that guides you through the improvisational process.
Stanford University
Comparison of Free Jazz to 20th Century Classical Music
A very indepth examination of free jazz. Site contains music theory and specific illustrated examples.
New York Times
New York Times: Listening to Jazz C Ds With Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins, legendary tenor saxophonist, invites us to listen to selections from four of his favorite jazz performances. Hear snipets of these jazz classics from the 1930s and 1940s: "Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter" (Fats...
Curated OER
National Park Service: Jazz Origins in New Orleans Pre 1895
Read about the origins of jazz music as it began in New Orleans before 1895. With its unique history and culture, New Orleans provided many opportunities for the development of jazz to thrive and grow.
Read Works
Read Works: Time for Jazz
[Free Registration/Login Required] A literary text about a girl named Lina who wanted to learn more about jazz music and its history. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
Other
Down Beat: Cecil Taylor
A detailed site containing information in the following sections: photos, biography, and archived news articles about avant-garde pianist/composer Cecil Taylor.
Other
Down Beat: Albert Ayler
A detailed article containing the following sections: biography, discography, photos, and news articles about Albert Ayler.
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History: Smithsonian Jazz: Duke's Music Class
Learn about jazz from the master, Duke Ellington. Three activities explore his role as jazz composer, orchestra leader, and pianist.
John F. Kennedy Center
The Kennedy Center: Musical Harlem
The Kennedy Center's ArtsEdge offers a great unit for introducing jazz to students. Its use of Harlem as the "glue" which binds together elements such as jazz history and jazz terminology, makes it particularly effective for the...
Other
Jazz Improvisation Primer
An info-packed lesson on jazz improvisation and jazz history. Very useful for musicians aspiring to play in the jazz idiom.
PBS
Pbs: Transcending Poetry, Jazz, Rap & Hip Hop
The objectives in this lesson plan will have students describing the characteristics of poetry, jazz, rap and hip hop music. Students will also analyze how poetry, jazz, hip hop and poetry reflect the culture of the time.
PBS
Pbs: Biography of Dizzy Gillespie
This PBS biography about trumpeter and jazz musician Dizzy Gillespie includes photos, multiple audio features, and links within the text to other famous musicians.
PBS
Pbs: Jazz and Math: The Beat Goes On
This lesson will require students to collect data through listening, counting and timing. They will use ratios, rates, and proportions to report data. They will also demonstrate an understanding of the concepts of rhythm and tempo in music.
PBS
Pbs: Jazz and Math: Improvisation Permutations
This lesson deals primarily with the number of rhythmic combinations that can be found in a four beat measure of music. Students will learn through trial and error and derive a mathematical formula to calculate the number of possible...
PBS
Pbs: Jazz and Math: The Fibonacci Keyboard
Teach a lesson about the piano keyboard using the Fibonacci Sequence. Explore with your students the various relationships the Fibonacci Sequence has with music.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: Jazz and the African American Literary Tradition
Article explores the influence of jazz on African American literature from the early history of jazz, noted jazz artists, the black-white tensions within jazz, to its literary influence after World War II.
PBS
Pbs: Jazz Is About Freedom
One of the objectives in this lesson plan focus on how jazz contributed to the political awareness of the American public concerning lynching. Using Billie Holiday's anti-lynching song Strange Fruit, young scholars will learn about...
PBS
Pbs: Jazz: Biographies: Ella Fitzgerald
Learn about the life of Ella Fitzgerald, from her childhood as an orphan to her rise as a successful jazz singer. Includes audio (requires RealPlayer).
Other
Oculus Magazine: Early Jazz
Written for an audience accustomed to rock, this is a good history of Jazz, from the late 1800's, when the form supposedly took shape, to recommended recordings and books.
Other
Jazz Improvisation Primer/ Free Improvisation
A look at what makes free jazz musically unique. Contains specific examples of free rhythm and tonality.
Scott Alexander
The Red Hot Jazz Archive: Origins of Big Band Jazz
Examines the progression from Ragtime and New Orleans jazz to Big Band.
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